Chapter 10: Armin Justice vs Ky Jones - Round 1
Before I knew it, I was geared up, sitting in the ring's corner.
I could hear everyone in the gym surrounding us, placing their bets on who they thought would win. It goes without saying that the smart mouth was the favorite to win amongst the gym members, but that didn't matter to me.
'They'll see.' I told myself. I was used to this sort of thing. It was the same thing when I joined my school's chess club all those years ago. And just like before, I was going to prove myself to everyone in the room.
"Are you sure about this?" My grandfather was worried about me. I knew he believed in me or else he wouldn't have agreed to train me, but I can imagine the idea of his blind grandson fighting one of his star pupils was unnerving despite the fact that he knew I was special.
"Yeah. I want to set the tone right now. I don't want anyone looking down on me or feeling sorry for me. I want to show everyone that I'm not a helpless, blind child. I'm a boxer who just so happens to see in a different way."
"You know, you're just like your father. Once you Justices have your mind set, there's no changing it. You're your own man. If this is what you feel like you have to do then so be it." My grandfather placed his hand on my shoulder and I could hear him exhale with a chuckle. "And beat that little brat's ass. He could use some humbling."
I nodded and punched my gloves together before standing up and making my way toward the center of the ring. With each step, I could feel the felt, rubber floor beneath me contour. There were three people inside the ring at this point: Me, Ky, and one of the gym's members acting as the referee.
The stand-in referee had a sort of gravelly voice, possibly due to being older in age. This guy wasn't a boxer anymore, it was evident in the age in his voice, but the toughness of it told me that he was once in the ring as a fighter himself. Though that time has long passed.
"Alright, gentlemen. We're going four rounds. If you get knocked down in a single round, you're done. Let's make it a clean fight. No attacks below the belt. Is that clear?"
I nodded. The rules were simple enough. Besides, it's not the first time I've heard them.
Unlike a real referee, he stepped out of the ring, leaving just Ky and I inside our own box. In my own mind, there was nothing but a void around us. If I wanted to win, I needed to focus all of my senses on my opponent.
I took a deep breath and focused on my feet, feeling for Ky's precise location. He was still in the ring's opposite corner of mine, and based on the very minimal contour on that part of the ring, I could tell he was leaning backward onto the rope.
Focusing on my hearing, I could tell that his breathing and heart rate were normal, showing not even the slightest ounce of nerves. In fact, he was confident; I could tell by the way he scoffed before leaning off of the ropes and stepping toward me. I'd assume this was the most confident he'd ever been before a match.
Once his full weight was on the mat, I could gather information about him. He was a few pounds lighter than me. I was around one hundred and fifty pounds at this point and he seemed closer to one hundred and forty. By the lightness of his footsteps, it was safe to assume he was quick on his feet.
"You know, you don't have to do this." He told me. I was hoping he'd speak again so I could gauge his height. He was around two inches taller than me, and with that information, I was able to form an image of his build in my head.
In front of me, I could 'see' his silhouette. For me, it appeared like a body made completely of smoke. That's how things always appeared in my head when I focused. The harder I focused, the more condensed this smoke silhouette was.
I said nothing and extended my glove out to him. Despite his cocky attitude, he touched my glove with his and took a step back, just before the bell for the first round began.
Just as the bell rang, he immediately started putting pressure on me. I raised my gloves and pivoted to the side, avoiding a sluggish jab from the son of the supposed Mad Scientist. That jab wasn't that of a trained boxer, it was almost as if he'd never thrown one in his life. However, the intent of the punch was obvious.
He was checking to see if I was actually blind.
I didn't want to get in close without any knowledge of his fighting style.
Ky scoffed before stopping in his tracks and slowing down his tempo. Those hopping steps were gone, and his smoke-like image in my head started to dissipate.
'Focus.'
He was likely trying to hide the sound of his footsteps, again testing to see if I could find him. It took more effort, but it was easy to feel exactly where he was in the rings based on the way it would bend at certain points.
I kept my guard up and faced him as he tried walking circles around me in an attempt to somehow flank me. Eventually, he was fed up and stopped in his tracks. "So is this some kind of prank? The kid can clearly see."
"Whether I can or not doesn't matter, does it? Shut up and put your gloves up." My words made him scoff once again and he opened his mouth to speak yet again. "Alright, kid. You're right, it doesn't matter. I'm going to put your ass to the mat right now."
As if he was only moving at a fraction of his true speed before, Ky stepped forward and delivered a speedy jab that I was barely able to dodge. Before I could even get my bearing straight, he attacked again, this time attempting a right hook, which I ducked under.
I took a few steps backward once again, only to find that my back was against the ropes. 'Damn it!'
I was so focused on him, that I wasn't paying attention to the ring around me. With nowhere to run, I put up my gloves and began blocking the onslaught of ones and twos coming at me.
I started to panic, and that silhouette of smoke was starting to dissipate fast. It got to the point where there was nothing but a black void in my head as I blocked helplessly. I knew fighting someone wasn't going to be easy, but I didn't think I'd get overwhelmed so easily.
Despite none of his punches being direct, he was wearing me down with each punch I blocked. He was showing no signs of slowing down as he punched, and for a moment, I started doubting myself.
I was just about to give up as I could feel my arms getting so weak, I could barely hold them up anymore. When the match started, I forced the ring into a void in my mind, blocking out everything from the outside. However, by this point of the match, I could no longer keep it up and I could hear everything outside the ring.
Not only was I doubting myself, but everyone in the gym was too.
I could hear their sorry sympathy for me and some poked fun at the idea of me even thinking I had a chance. I was used to people looking down on me, but for the first time in a long while, it hurt. Their words stung just as much as Ky's punches.
'Was this all for nothing? I can't even see where I'm being attacked from, he's just too unrelenting. Maybe I wasn't cut out for this. Maybe I was never meant to box. Maybe that's why grandpa made me do everything but box for all these years. He knew it too. He only brought me here to prove that no matter what I do, my blindness will hold me back...'
Just before my arms were about to drop, I could single out a voice in the crowd. "Your gift! Use your gift, Armin!"
'That's right. My gift. I was so overwhelmed, that I had forgotten everything I'd learned. It wasn't for nothing, it was to prepare me for this exact moment...'
I regained my focus and the world around me was restored to how it was in my mind, a ring surrounded by a black void with Ky's smokey shadow in front of me. I focused on Ky, reading every breath, every step, and every jab, looking for something that could give me the advantage with my ability to read the ring.
One.
Two.
Two.
One.
One.
Two.
One.
Two.
Two.
One.
One.
A pattern.
There was a method to the madness of the Mad Scientist's son. With every second right, there were two quick jabs that followed.
Once I made the realization, I could see a shard in my mind, one that was going to open up a new continuity of our battle; one where the tides would finally shift in my favor.
One.
Two.
Two.
'Now!'
Knowing the jab was coming, I quickly ducked to the side and delivered a counterpunch straight to Ky's chin and he never saw it coming. Instantly, I could hear his backside slam onto the mat in front of me, and I could hear his heart rate begin to skyrocket.
Not only was his heart racing but so was mine, though not for the same reasons.
As my heart pounded against my chest, I savored the feeling of my fist meeting someone's face for the first time and it was exhilarating. I'd punched my makeshift punching bag a million times, but this one punch was more satisfying than all of my previous punches combined.
Meanwhile, our makeshift ref slid into the ring and checked up on Ky.
"Are you alright, can you continue?"
I didn't even hear Ky answer, I just heard him smack the ref's hand away before struggling to get back up on his feet. Even though his legs were trembling after receiving a shot to the chin and feeling his brain rock inside his skull, stunning his entire body, he still tried to stand.
Hearing him rise to his feet wasn't too surprising since my punch wasn't all that powerful, but it was still impressive nonetheless.
By this point, some of my confidence was restored, but at the same time, I felt anxious. The round was about to completely change for both of us.
No longer would I be holding back. However, in my case, it was unintentional. For Ky, he was holding back intentionally and it was safe to say that after that punch, that would no longer be the case.
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